maxp0wers

I know these things are subjective and dependent on many factors, but looking for a ball park figure here.

Through the fault of AS, we lost a full day of vacation in Cabo San Lucas. It was an IT issue on their end and they comped us with hotel voucher, dinner vouchers and breakfast voucher the next morning. So, yes, their fault.

The unresolved part of this is the lost day for my gf and I. Additionally, both of are MVPs are recieved fc upgrades for the re-booked flight...but at the gate, AS again said "whoops" and they had to split our ticket. GF took FC, i took economy despite having been confirmed for fc upgrade ( email and app ).

The trip was really a mess.

My assumption is that 10,000 - 20,000 miles each would be adequate. Does that sound fair? I'm trying to be reasonable here and not looking for "emotional trauma" or anything of the sort. Just looking to objectively assess the loss in AS miles and walk away.

Thoughts?

notquiteaff

What if you had been on the way to a job interview, missed it due to a fault by AS, and thus didn't get the job. Would you expect compensation for the "damage"?

I think 5k to 10k miles as a goodwill gesture would seem reasonable, but trying to put a value on the loss seems to be the wrong approach. Some things are just priceless

missamo80

Instead of miles ask for a cash voucher? They'll give $350 vouchers for cancelled flights that go mechanical, so you should be able to nicely request at least that amount each.

Neil

Often1

Don't look at is the value of what you lost. AS, just like all carriers, expressly excludes compensatory damages and will react negatively to anything which would permit people to suggesting that it pays these types of damages.

What's the value of a lost job, a large sales commission or the chance to see a dying relative one last time?

You are not entitled to any compensation. Rather, AS may choose to give you a customer service gesture. I would frame my request in that light.

Ask for the AS funny money if you prefer those (just don't call them "cash").

VibeGuy

Given that I redeem my miles for international premium cabin travel, I value them such that 20k miles each would feel like pretty small beer for that level of screwup.

diver858

I would write a BRIEF, CONCISE, COHESIVE letter of explanation to AS CS, graciously accept whatever compensation is granted, move on with your lives.

dayone

I think 20K miles or a $300 voucher is at the high end of the range. YMMV.

slopeboy40

The thought of "what can I get from them because they messed up my flights" never even crosses my mind, but that's just me. Hotel and meals already comped. Anything more than that is a bonus. But 10,000-20,000k miles each?!?!?

jsguyrus

It would probably be helpful to know exactly what happened.

acarney

I see this both ways. I see that AS "took care" of them while stuck somewhere (though it could actually have been at their home location, in which case is a hotel really needed or worth it? :P) but what would stress me out is the cost of whatever was lost. What if they booked a $400/night hotel in Mexico and missed a night of that? It would be nice to get close to whatever the cost was in something from AS... at least then to "balance the books" in my mind and put it towards the next trip.

Of course then you get into travel insurance... would it have paid out for something like this?

I always get stressed out on things like this because I tend to make my trips really tight. I.E. fly into LA at 9 or 10pm and be hitting a theme park the next morning at 8am. If it's Universal that could possibly be a VIP tour package. If AS (or someone) couldn't get me on a super early flight and into LA with time to get to Universal after traffic, I could miss all or at least a large portion of that tour. That could be ~$350/person + the hotel for a night (which usually is $250 to $300/night for me since I stay right near the parks). $600 or so "missed" because of a flight issue would really hurt, especially since I usually only take off from work for a vacation once a year.

Again, maybe travel insurance is a better idea then people think... but honestly I haven't read the deep terms and details, who knows if it would cover missed theme park tickets and such or just travel/hotel costs...

maxp0wers

Thanks for the opinions everyone. Will talk to AS today. As i as said, i wanted to be reasonable.

The details are too long to go through, but in short, it was a split flight between AS and VX that caused a lot of problems on our layover. We were not at our home airport or destination. AS boarding pass worked for AS flight...AS boarding pass for VX flight did not, and since we had to go through security in a separate terminal, we missed our VX flight. We got pushed back and forth between VX and AS until AS finally agreed to help a few hours later.

AS accepted responsibility for the inconvenience, which is why I was just trying to get opinions on what's a day of lost vacation worth.

maxp0wers

Just contacted AS and received 2 $100 vouchers ( one for me, one for my gf on the ticket ).

gave the rep a 30 second run down of the situation and asked if he needed me to support any part of the story. The case was well documented by AS already so that helped. Put me on hold, came back and offered the vouchers.

he said they don't offer compensation for lost days but that they still wanted to help, so take that for what you will.

To clarify, this was a valid claim in my opinion. I did not exaggerate the situation, complain, or give a long sob story. Just gave the facts and pointed out my gf and I are both MVPs. I think the key here was having AS and VX document the matter at the airport after the missed flight.

no games from either side and we got the situation resolved fairly in 17 min. Things happen, but the way this was handled tells me I'm happy to stay with AS.

CDKing

You could possibly sue under the Montreal convention for expenses you lost out on since its international.

MSPeconomist

That would be monetary expenses for which the OP has receipts, not the value of a lost vacation day which would be extremely subjective.

NoLaGent

Oh good grief.

Of course the OP could have the hotel provide the expense of the 1 night missed from their overall bill for that specific expense, but are you really suggesting they sue for whatever the differential is between the $200 in vouchers they received vs. the 1 night room charge?

I think AS handled this one as fairly as possible (hotel voucher/meal vouchers/etc) with the only possible exception being the FC upgrades which I'm terribly confused by. If you were both confirmed in FC on the rebook, why were 1 of you downgraded? If you have email/app confirmation, shouldn't downgrade compensation apply?